The government, through the Ministry of Transport, has announced plans to establish more vehicle inspection centres in every county as part of a broader strategy to curb road accidents across the country.
Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Transport on Friday, April 11, Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir stated that the government would partner with relevant dealers to facilitate the establishment of the inspection centres.
“We will be opening up inspection space to all the major dealers who make the licensing requirements for inspection and provide equipment for inspection so that the licensing should be done in every county,” Chirchir told the committee members.
The session, which was also attended by National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) Director General George Njao, saw Chirchir give an update on the recent rollout of digital cameras along major highways.
The CS stated that the pilot phase of the project, which began in November 2024, saw cameras strategically placed on various roads to identify and track individuals breaking the law.
Chirchir told the lawmakers that the government had collected adequate data since the piloting stage began and that plans were underway for the second phase.
The transport minister further explained that the second phase of the rollout would involve institutionalising and procuring more cameras, both fixed and mobile, to heighten surveillance.
“There are some digital cameras installed in some locations for testing. We have collected enough data, and we should be going into a second phase of institutionalizing and procuring some of these cameras, both fixed and mobile, so that we can improve the behavior on the roads,” Chirchir said.
Meanwhile, Njao informed the committee that the pilot project was still underway and called for the allocation of adequate budgetary resources to help deal with the prevalent traffic offenses.
He noted that the Authority had submitted other new regulations to the Attorney General’s office for review but revealed that the approval process had stalled due to budgetary constraints.
“It’s part of the pilot project, which we started in November, and we have been testing them. They are located along Thika Highway, Mombasa Road and the Southern Bypass,” Njao revealed.
“We have now six months of testing, and the data is now accurately captured. The next phase is to roll out the additional 408 kits,” the NTSA boss added.
Chirchir and Njao clarified the matter after a committee member revealed that a road user had texted him, lamenting that he had received messages from NTSA about speeding and was required to pay a certain fee.
“I received a text saying that I am driving at a speed of more than a hundred and ten kilometres per hour, and I need to pay a certain amount when I was driving to Kirinyaga,” commented the legislator.
